Always The Bridesmaid, Never The Bride

Actually, this is the first time I have ever been a groomsmen and I’m not really ready to be the groom, so my title for this post is mostly cliche. Sorry folks for all of the delays in an actual post here. Last time we left off, Chase and I had traveled to Dothan and we both had some food, some good talks, but we got home far too late. I went to bed that Thursday night/Friday morning at 3:00 A.M.. I then got up at 5:45 A.M. to drive to Jacksonville because my former roommate of two years, Michael “Milks” Miller was getting married to Leah Keen. So, I set off on my four hour long drive and made it there by 11:30 A.M. After an hour of just sitting around and meeting some of the random family members that were there, we set out for our “bachelor party”. We took Michael to Chuck E Cheese’s. It was a very reminiscent and almost boyishly fun-filled time. Mike’s parents paid for it and we got a lot of tokens for games. Pizza, games, and a mouse that fronts a band, what more could a single guy on his last night of freedom want?

After the invigorating times we spent together in a room for two years, an afternoon at a childhood-favorite establishment, Mike and I went to the mall one last time together, both single, to pick up my tuxedo. I tried it on and it fit well. And, I looked good. I am in no way boasting. I was just so excited that this tux made me look good because I usually don’t like my appearance, especially in dress clothes, and more particularly in a ninety dollar rental (however, I got mine free). We then headed back to the hotel and then off to the wedding rehearsal. We arrived late after getting stuck in 5 o’clock Jacksonville traffic. We were met at the church by some of the families of both bride and groom, the Presbyterian minister, the other groomsmen, bridesmaids and the bride herself. The rehearsal went well, except the minister was very snippy and got on my nerves quite a bit. He just didn’t seem very pleasant and from some things Mike told me about his own personal encounters with the minister, he won’t be one of my top picks to marry me. The rehearsal dinner was an English theme and we listen to the Beatles’ songs be preformed by an orchestra (on CD). Afterward, Andy Hunter (a BCFer and usher), Mike, and myself played with the drums, bass guitar, and piano and just had an amateur jam session, with each of us having little knowledge of the instruments we were playing, but plenty of songs in our repertoire to sing happily along to. Back at the hotel, Mike, his Mom, Dad, cousin, and I just hung out chatting. I was supposed to stay at Andy’s house, but when I drove over there, the door was locked. I knocked on the door for about five minutes, but there was no answer. So, I hurriedly drove back over to the motel and knocked on The Miller’s door. Luckily, Jonathan (Michael’s brother) was still up and let me sleep on their floor. We had an early 5:00 A.M. wake up call in the particular annoyance of the fire alarm going off. We went outside for about thirty minutes and then allowed to go back inside. Needless to say, much like my previous amount, the night’s sleep wasn’t all that long, refreshing, or reenergizing.

June 21st was the big day and we started it off with a nice continental breakfast. We got all dolled up and headed over to the church for pictures around noon. After an hour and 30 minutes pictures, we were starting to get ready. I had to walk Leah’s Grandma and Grandpa down the aisle, then head over to the side door to walk in with the other groomsmen and Milks. The wedding was really nice, however it was long. It lasted at least one hour, but probably a few minutes longer. Which was fine, except my feet killed me and it was hot underneath the very bright lights. Plus, I was behind Earl (Mike’s cousin), who is taller than me, so I didn’t seem much of the wedding. The wedding went off without a problem and Michael and Leah Miller were hitched. After another hour of pictures we were ready to be announced into the reception. I actually got to sit down while the pictures were going on. Besides Melodye Brown (another BCFer and the only other non-related member of the wedding party), I just sat there for most of it. While in the reception, Jonathan (best man and Mike’s brother), Earl (groomsmen and Mike’s cousin), and I started messing up the car they were going to drive off in. We put packing popcorn in all of the floorboards and filled it up to the tops of the seats (front and back). We wrote all over the windows, stuck some bullet-shattering glass decals on the windows. Also, we filled it with balloons with special messages on them. Jonathan stuck a whistle on the exhaust pipe so when he accelerated, a loud pitched whistle noise came out. Tied Mountain Dew cans to the back and put toilet paper on the windows. It was done up pretty well, if I do say so. Chase and Donna also came and got to witness them drive off. After we cleaned up the church, I headed to dinner with my adopted parents, the Millers, for the evening. Later that night, Michael’s cousins and I just played Jeopardy on Nintendo 64. I woke up Sunday morning and drove into Melbourne. This is so long, so I’m going to go for now. However, if I had to pick a song, to sing and play at my wedding for my whomever my bride is, it would be The Long And Winding Road by The Beatles. Here’s why:
"The wild and windy night that the rain washed away, has left a pool of tears crying for the day. Why leave me standing here, let me know the way. Many times I’ve been alone and many times I’ve cried, Anyway you’ll never know the many ways I’ve tried, but Still they lead me back to the long and winding road."